The word tore from my throat before I could stop it. “Run!”
***
Everything that had happened over the past years, from Lyric’s death and Caspian leaving to my father’s betrayal had helped prepare me for this moment. I’d learned to embrace my pain, physical and emotional. I’d learned how to be independent and cope on my own. And I’d learned that not everything was as it seemed.
There was a certain kind of beauty in that—in knowing that pain made me stronger, that death made me want to live, that all the things that were meant to break my heart made me a warrior instead.
My feet pounded the forest floor. Leaves and twigs crunched beneath my bare skin, but the sharp stings didn’t bother me. My feet had seen worse. It was dark and hard to sweep the branches away before a few of them whipped my face. The horns kept getting caught in the trees and yanking my head back, so I yanked them off and kept running, keeping the horns held tightly in my hand. Right now, they were my only defense against whoever might catch me. I ran hard, faster than I ever had. Cold air burned my lungs, and my chest felt heavy. Anger and rage fueled my steps. I pictured my father’s face as he stood there, allowing this to happen. I worried for Claire. Would she be next? Or was this my punishment for choosing Caspian?
Hurried footfalls sounded behind me, rustling branches and leaves. In the distance, someone screamed. I said a silent prayer for the one of us who had been caught.
I remembered all the times I’d run from Caspian, wishing it were him chasing me now instead of a real monster. I worried about him and wondered if he was okay. I had no idea what day it was or how long I’d been gone. If they’d taken me, what had they done to him? I had to survive. I had to get out of here, so I would know, so I could be the one to save him this time.
My foot dropped into a hole, twisting my ankle and sending a sharp bolt of pain splintering up my leg.
Another scream. This one was quickly muffled by someone’s hand.
Dear God.
My eyes watered from the weight on my ankle. I just needed to make it to whatever was on the other side of these trees.
Out of the darkness, strong arms wrapped around me and tackled me to the forest floor. The impact stole the breath from my lungs in a hard thud. My chin slammed against the dirt, knocking my teeth together and making me bite my tongue. A flash of white light burst behind my eyelids at the pain, and I immediately recognized the metallic taste of blood. The horns tumbled to the ground as I threw my head back, trying to headbutt whoever was on top of me.
He grunted and pressed his body hard against mine. “You and your boyfriend are about to learn I’m not a man to be fucked with.” He yanked a fistful of my hair, making my scalp sting, and I let out a yelp.
Khalid.
He’d caught me.
I tried to elbow his ribs, but he grabbed my arm and pinned it to my side. “I’m going to take you home with me and treat you like the filthy slut you are.” He pulled my head back and forced me to look at him, his dark brown eyes narrowed slits of evil. “The world will call you a princess, but we’ll both know you’re just my whore.”
I threw my other elbow up, aiming for any part of him I could reach. “This is the last time you willeverput your hands on me.”
Air filled my lungs in a satisfying whoosh as the weight of his body was lifted off me. I pushed up off the ground and flipped myself over, flinching when I tried to push up on my ankle. Relief quickly turned to panic when one of the hooded figures from the boat towered over me.
Khalid swung at him and missed. “Find another whore. This one’s mine.”
The hooded man grabbed the antelope horns from the ground, then pushed them into Khalid’s stomach, angling them upward. Blood poured from the wound and soaked his hands.
My mind was telling me to run, but my body didn’t move.
I wasn’t afraid of this man.
He tilted his head, inspecting his handiwork. “And the antelope slays the lion…” His voice was calm, proud… and familiar.
Caspian.
Oh God.
Caspian was here.
A long breath heaved from my tired lungs and tears began streaming down my face.
He was here.
He was okay.
Khalid jerked and twitched, and Caspian grabbed him by the shirt to keep him from falling. He leaned forward and looked Khalid in the eye. “You don’t get to take what’s mine. Don’t ever,everthink you’re capable of that.” He grabbed Khalid by the hair and forced his head back, making his chin jut out. And then he pulled a knife from inside his robe and jabbed it upward from the bottom of Khalid’s chin to the roof of his mouth. “That’s for calling her a whore.”